DUBAI: Hall of Fame coach Don Nelson, one of basketball’s great innovators whose ideas helped shape the modern NBA, has died at the age of 86.
Nelson died peacefully on Sunday surrounded by family, bringing to a close a remarkable life in basketball that stretched across more than six decades as a player, coach and executive.
Across 31 seasons as an NBA head coach between 1976 and 2010, “Nellie” recorded 1,335 regular-season victories with the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks.
He retired in 2010 as the coach with the most wins in NBA history, a record he held until Gregg Popovich surpassed him in 2022. Nelson remains second on the all-time list.
He was named NBA Coach of the Year three times and reached the playoffs 18 times. Before moving to the sidelines, he played 14 NBA seasons from 1962 to 1976 and won five championships with the Boston Celtics.
